Related Stories

For those looking for the Maple Leafs to make a big splash at the upcoming March 5 trade deadline, you’d be better off expecting a small ripple instead.

So says Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis, who added in a wide-ranging interview on Monday that he is eager to see his full roster finally healthy for pretty much the first time since the summer rather than shuffle the deck through a blockbuster move or two.

“I don’t anticipate us making any major moves,” Nonis said. “And I definitely don’t see us getting involved in a rent-a-player transaction that sees us move resources for someone we only have for a handful of weeks.”

Thanks in part to some reported strong words to his players last month, Nonis watched his re-energized Leafs go on an 11-2-1 tear prior to the Olympic break. And with David Bolland on the verge of coming back to the lineup for the first time since suffering a horrifying tendon injury to his ankle back on Nov. 2, Nonis figures the return of the veteran centre is almost like making a deadline swap.

The difference? Unlike a trade, you are not surrendering any assets for Bolland.

“Certainly, it’s a factor that changes things,” Nonis said.

“Injuries happen. But we haven’t really had the opportunity to ice the team we envisioned last summer. We are getting closer to that. Now Randy (Carlyle) and the coaching staff has to tinker and find where everyone fits in.”

Nonis isn’t completely closing the door on a significant swap should another team make him an offer he can’t refuse. But it would have to be the type of proposal that simply wows him — and those don’t come around very often.

“You’re always looking to get better,” he said. “But it has to be a hockey deal. It has to make sense long term while helping us now as well.”

Like his buddy Brian Burke, Nonis is wary of the trade deadline, a time in which he feels the stock of players is overvalued.

“No question that perception and price are inflated,” Nonis said. “Deadline prices definitely are different than summer prices.”

With 22 games remaining in the regular season for his Leafs, we present “Dave Nonis Unplugged: The Trade Deadline/Playoff Stretch Drive Edition.”

A year ago, Nonis insisted he was not going to move pending unrestricted free agent Tyler Bozak just because the young centre’s contract would run out at the end of the season. The GM’s logic: Why would he take a key cog out of a lineup that was trying to win? If Bozak wanted to remain a Leaf, there would be plenty of time to work something out after the deadline and into the summer. It did.

This time around, Nonis hasn’t altered his view.

“Same stance. It hasn’t changed. Like I said, if it’s a hockey deal that makes sense long term, fine. But the fact that you might lose that player over the summer isn’t motivation to move them.”

Among Toronto’s pending UFAs: Dave Bolland, Mason Raymond, Nikolai Kulemin, Jay McClement, Paul Ranger. Bolland is on record as saying he’d like to remain in Toronto.

On Nazem Kadri: Better, but still room to ‘improve’

Throughout the season, Nonis has not minced his words when it comes to this enigmatic former first-rounder. And now, after seeing Kadri embark on a pre-Olympic hot streak that leaves him third in team scoring with 41 points, the GM admits the consistency the young centre has lacked early in his career finally is beginning to show.

At the same time, Nonis feels Kadri remains a work in progress.

“There is still room for improvement, but he has been better without the puck and that is so important in Randy (Carlyle’s) system,” Nonis said. “For Naz to get the minutes he is looking for from Randy, he has to play well without the puck. It’s as simple as that.”

During a TSN radio interview last month, Nonis said the Leafs would trade Kadri if the price was right, but stressed they were not “trying” to deal him. Indeed, the Leafs have been contacted about Kadri by other teams, but have not been shopping him. The message here? If Kadri was ever shipped out, the Leafs would need to get equitable, if not a better, return.

In the end, Nonis’ first choice would be to see Kadri reach the potential the organization feels he has. He still has significant work to do, but he certainly has started to make strides in that direction.

On Carlyle: Dandy Randy was never on GM’s hot seat

A post-Winter Classic swoon saw some media and panicking Leafs Nation suggesting Carlyle’s days in Toronto might be numbered, a head-scratching notion considering his Leafs, just eight months earlier, had qualified for their first post-season berth in nine years.

Nonis made his stance quite evident at the time, telling the Sun’s Steve Simmons last month that “if they’re waiting for a coaching change, they’re going to be waiting a long time,”

With the Leafs having won 11 of 14 games prior to the Olympic break, the Carlyle bashing from the outside world has been muzzled for the time being. And while Carlyle’s job never was in jeopardy, Nonis reiterated his earlier comments to Simmons that the public outcry and pressure from the press is all part of the hockey fishbowl known as Toronto.

“Randy is a very good coach,” Nonis said on Monday. “As for the (criticism), our market is special for a number of different reasons. Small things in other markets are big here. That’s because of the interest here. It’s something you embrace. It doesn’t take your focus off the plan, however.”

On David Clarkson: Rounding into form

Unlike those critics who already have labelled last summer’s marquee free-agent signing as a “bust,” Nonis likes what he’s seen of Clarkson of late. In fact, if the trend continues, Clarkson might be rounding into form at just the right time: The playoff drive.

“He’s still a work in progress, but he’s showing signs for sure, especially in the five or six games prior to the break,” Nonis said. “The games in Florida and Tampa probably were his best of the season.

“He just has to stick to his game and not try to do too much, which was happening earlier in the season.”

On Phil Kessel: Thumbs up for the “post-extension” Phil the Thrill

Inking a fat extension such as the eight-year, $64 million US doozy handed to Phil Kessel prior to the Leafs’ season opener often causes the recipient to take his foot off the gas. In Nonis’ mind, that hasn’t been the case with Phil the Thrill, who is fourth in league scoring with 65 points.

“Phil has been more than we could have ever expected,” Nonis said. “Not just in terms of offence — we’ve seen what he can do in that respect in the past five years — but from the standpoint of being a more complete player in all three zones. His game is more complete now and we couldn’t be happier about it.”

On possible Olympic hangovers for Kessel and JVR: The kids will be all right

Both Kessel and James van Riemsdyk played a lot of hockey in Sochi, leading some observers to wonder if fatigue might be a factor down the stretch. According to Nonis, however, there is no reason to fret, even with the Leafs likely needing to heavily lean on their two first-line wingers over the final six weeks of the regular season.

“No doubt there will be some fatigue,” said Nonis of Kessel and JVR, both of whom should be back at practice in the next day or two. “But I think the coaching staff will have plans in place to get them extra rest. Besides, they’re still young.”

On Tim Gleason: This ex-Cane is more than able

On a blue line oozing with hustle, the Leafs needed more effective muscle. It was an ingredient brought to the table by the likes of Mark Fraser and Mike Kostka a year ago but was sorely lacking through the first three months of this season.

By dealing for Gleason just before puck drop of the Jan. 1 Winter Classic as part of a trade that sent defenceman John-Michael Liles to Carolina, Carlyle and Nonis figured they were filling a need. So far, so good.

“He’s been just what we’d hoped he’d be,” said Nonis, noting the sandpaper and defensive prowess Gleason has brought to the Leafs. “We had no shortage of puck movers on the back end, but we lacked a different element on our defence. He’s brought that.

“He’s been excellent.”

On Jonathan Bernier: Shouldering the load

So far, so good for the former first-rounder acquired by the Leafs last summer.

Nonis is quite pleased with how Bernier has handled his long-waited opportunity to be an NHL No. 1 goalie. But he also is aware that this kid is sailing into uncharted waters in terms of workload.

“He’s been very very good,” Nonis said. “But this is the first time he’s every played as many games as this.”

With the Leafs getting back to action Thursday on Long Island, Bernier has already played in 44 games — and counting.